By JEREMY SHIRES
IT’S hard to believe, but in the mid-1960s, when rugby league was already 70 years old, not one university offered students an opportunity to play the game. There was a team at Portsmouth’s college of technology, but they only began in 1966.
The story of how that changed has been well told – not least in Dave Hadfield’s book Learning Curve – but the underlying pattern of development in universities begins in every case with student initiative and not from the top down.
A team at Leeds University set the ball rolling in March 1967 and within a few years a league had been set up which began to expand nationally in a way quite unlike the rest of the game, professional or amateur.
From those early days 50 years ago, student rugby league has blossomed into a universities sector and a college league for sixth form establishments. There have been international tours, Student World Cups and many players brought up in the learned game who have gone on to fine careers in the professional ranks.
Most importantly, the opportunity to play rugby league at a recreational level has given many thousands of students from all parts of the country a chance to try the game at a level that matches their ability.
I joined Leeds University in 1992 and was fortunate enough to captain the team in 1994-5, playing alongside a crop of freshers: Jody Moran, GB students and SRL Player of the Year for three years running, plus Irish music world champion hailing from Wigan; Matt Pennington, GB students from the Wirral; Graeme Sargeant, GB students and now RFL legal eagle from Penrith; Duncan Ogilvie, Leicester Tigers colt and England students; and Nick Diamond, England students and a classy Cumbrian prop hewn from the proverbial granite.
At the time there was no active old boys association, however the camaraderie at the club was such that we felt compelled to kickstart a new one; not only to keep friends in touch with one another, but also to ensure that graduates (especially those from non-RL backgrounds) continued to support both the game and club once they left.
As a result, Leeds University Rugby League Old Boys was formed in 1995. It has been instrumental in organising an annual reunion dinner and game against the current student team ever since.
Following graduation, an opportunity arose to move on to Oxford University, where I took an active role in the rugby league club, playing in two varsity clashes in 1997 and 1998. Their Old Boys association lay dormant. Given the success of the Leeds model, I decided to attempt a revival of it.
By 2000, we had enough old boys to mount a fixture against the current team.
Fortunately Oxford stalwart John Hobart was nearing the end of his playing career at around the same time and has taken the Oxford Old Boys to a new level, culminating last month with a prestigious dinner in the heart of London’s West End to celebrate the 40th birthday of Oxford University RL club.
It featured Kevin Sinfield as principal speaker, former boxer John Conteh as an enthusiastic auctioneer and was supported by a number of rugby league personalities and the charity State of Mind.
For Leeds, the reaching of 50 years will be marked by a weekend organised by the Old Boys between 10-12 March 2017. It will feature a university reception on the Friday evening, with touch rugby 9s involving players of similar eras and a full-scale Old Boys game against the current first team.
The cornerstone will be a dinner at Headingley on the Saturday evening.
Finally, members of that first-ever team to take the field in 1967 will assemble at Soldiers Field, Roundhay, for a visit down Memory Lane exactly 50 years to the minute after that first ever kick-off there.
A number of players from the past have already been traced, but many haven’t, which perhaps is inevitable given the diverse way students follow their subsequent careers. To pick a few examples, we would love to hear from Dave Clark from County Durham, fullback in that first game; Jim Shoesmith (Huddersfield) and Bill Knowles (Manchester) who were captains in the earliest days of the club, and Russ Gawthorp (York) who coached the team in the 1990s.
We are appealing for as many former Leeds University student players and coaches to make themselves known and ideally join us in March to renew friendships formed over those years both on and off the field.
For details of the event and registration visit www.lurloldboys.com
